In the Cards
by everyoneisMISunderstood
Summary: Inspired by "Shark in the Water".  One day, Eli decides Clare needs a break, so he takes her to see a psychic for fun.  However, when the readings reveal things to each other that they'd been trying to deny, they must face their feelings. Eclare. Oneshot.


**(A/N) Well, I've never written for Degrassi, but I really love Clare/Eli, so I figured it's time I posted something for the TV show (which happens to be a serious guilty pleasure of mine.)**

**This was inspired by the scene in the promo with Clare and Eli in the fortune teller's tent.**

Clare had writers block. _Again._ With her parents finally deciding that divorce was "the best solution", she couldn't help but feel horribly uninspired to do anything, and Ms. Dawes was noticing. "Clare…" She sighed, truly wishing the paper she was handing back had a better mark. "I know you can do better."

She glowered at the big, fat 'D' scrawled across the top of the page, thinking maybe it would magically transform into the first letter of the alphabet, though she didn't bother arguing her mark this time. Clare knew she deserved this grade seeing as she put zero effort into that particular paper, one that was supposed to talk about a good moment in her life. How was she supposed to write about joy when she'd forgotten how it felt to be happy?

Despite what she'd confessed in her previous paper about how knowing the truth right away is easier than waiting, she was still hurting. Her perfect family had started to crumble when Darcy was raped, and things only went downhill from there. Was Clare the only one left in her family who hadn't given up on others, who hadn't given up on _herself?_

Sometimes, she thought she was. And sometimes, she felt utterly alone.

"Seems you're in desperate needs of some more public humiliation."

Clare jerked her head up in the direction of the wry voice, frowning at her friend. "No. My parents are in desperate needs of some marriage counseling. I thought it would be better knowing, but..." She trailed off because tears were starting to build in her eyes, and she wasn't one for crying in public, and she definitely wasn't crazy about the idea of bawling in front of Eli.

But he understood. He knew what it was like to listen to the screaming late at night when the parents thought the kids were in bed. He knew what it was like to not care anymore. He knew what it was like to just want to give up on yourself because nothing seemed to be going that great.

However, he didn't want Clare to feel that way. He hadn't had anyone to help him through his parent's failed marriage, and he was determined to help the girl sitting near him. Lately, she'd been frowning a lot more than she'd been smiling, and she was the type of person who was always a lot prettier when she was grinning. She just sort of… glowed. "So does this mean you aren't gonna ditch with me?"

"I didn't know you were offering."

He simpered at her, both her statement and the confusion swimming in her eyes. "Sure, if you want. Unless you're too afraid to have fun," He taunted her.

Despite what Clare thought, he wasn't mocking her to be rude. He knew that Clare was the kind of person who would work their fingers to the bone, and he knew she was the kind of person who wouldn't take a break unless prodded. So, Eli was Clare's designated break prodder.

Plus he _really_ hated school, so getting out of sitting in a boring classroom and hanging out with a pretty girl all at the same time... Well, what could be better?

Not that Clare was just a pretty girl because if Eli was being honest, he could probably list at least five girls in the school who were physically more attractive. But it wasn't her outward shell that was so captivating, it was who she was. He loved her eyes because they say the eyes are the window to the soul, and in Clare's baby blue gaze, you could sense how _good_ she was and it made Eli feel… different.

Clare wasn't sure if skipping class was a very good idea, but the more she thought about it, the more appealing the offer sounded. She was always afraid of disappointing her parents, but they'd disappointed her (and God knows how much Darcy screwed up) so what did it matter anymore? She was her own person and she would do whatever she wanted.

"Let's go," She muttered and Eli smirked at her again as the two walked out the back door of the classroom, and for once, Clare didn't bother contemplating what the other classmates thought of her.

The two teenagers climbed into Eli's hearse, and Clare wondered yet again, why exactly he chose this car to drive. So for once, she actually asked and was surprised by his answer. "I needed a car, and no one wants to drive something that carts around – or used to cart around – dead people. Naturally, this was cheap."

She wasn't expecting him to say something like that. Taking in his dark clothing, dark hair, and his intense green eyes; she would have thought it would be something slightly… morbid. Even though he implied that he did not have an obsession with death like she'd originally thought, she hadn't imagined his answer would be so sensible.

Reading the surprise on Clare's face, he smiled at her dryly. "When people started categorizing me as the 'creepy kid who drives a car for dead people' I sort of started dressing to act the part. It made me different, not the same as half of the freaks in school." Seeing even more surprise and a bit of shame in her eyes he corrected himself. "It makes me a different kind of freak. Do I really seem that weird to you?"

Thinking about it, she realized she really didn't think he was that weird. He was a guy who loved music and was good at writing, a guy with a sense of humor and treated her right. He honestly seemed like a good enough person, despite what other people thought before they bothered getting to know him. Well, he was a good person when you didn't mess with him, but something told Clare he'd never, ever treat her (or any girl for that matter) the way he treated Fitz and other people like him. "Not really. At least, not in the way you're thinking."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked, sparing another glance away from the road to her face.

She laughed, though it wasn't really a happy laugh. No, it was a little bit more staged than that. "Well, you hang out with _me._" After all, who would want to spend time with goody-goody Clare Edwards? The girl who was apparently, no fun?

"Because I like you," He told her, noticing out of his peripheral vision that his blunt statement made her blush a bit. "Is it so weird that I talk to my friends?" He added, in an attempt to make her feel more comfortable.

_Oh. That's what he meant._ Clare thought to herself, feeling a bit foolish. Did she really think for a second that maybe Eli wanted to… you know, date her or something? She tried to deny that she hadn't felt a bit of hope too, like maybe she wanted to date Eli. Did she want to date Eli?

"Especially the pretty ones," He turned slightly and smiled crookedly, and her heart sped up again.

She definitely wanted to date Eli, and she shuddered at the thought because someone like him wouldn't ask her out. But maybe he would, she reconciled. After all, he just made a comment of the flirtatious nature and...

She stopped before she over-analyzed Eli's offhand comment.

Her confusing thoughts were pushed away as she noticed him pulling into a driveway. "Is this your home?"

"No way." He snickered at the house that was disgustingly cute. What guy would take a girl to his house if it was pink with flowery plants all over the white-painted porch?

She frowned. "Then where—Oh no. Oh, you're _kidding _me, right?" She jabbed her finger at a sign posted on the lawn. "A psychic? _Really?_"

He grinned at her horrified and slightly fascinated facial expression. "What, is this against your religion?"

She glowered at him and muttered, "Probably." Though she actually wasn't too sure. The guilt creeping up her spine made her feel that, it probably was suggested in the Bible that this was wrong.

"As long as you don't take it too seriously, it's okay to have fun, right?" He quirked an eyebrow at her. This was why he didn't have a religion, to many rules and what-ifs that he didn't like and/or agree with.

Clare frowned slightly. "I guess…"

"Good," He told her, and he got out of the car. He walked around to the other side and helped her out of the car which surprised Clare because, apparently, chivalry wasn't quite dead yet. "My mom told me to always respect girls or she'd kill me." She laughed and they walked inside the house, bells jingling as the door opened.

Eli observed the room, noting that as sweet as it looked on the outside, the interior was a little bit creepy. There were lots of weird looking dried herbs, probably to ward off evil spirits or something, and the decorations were… interesting, to say the least. There was a huge curtain hanging in place of a door, and it looked like it was pretty thick. He assumed that was where the readings were going to be done.

"Hello," A young woman waltzed out from behind the curtain. "My name is Layla, I assume you would like a reading?"

Clare looked at Eli who shrugged, and the woman smiled. "First time?" When they both nodded, she smiled wider. "Follow me, please."

She led the two behind the heavy curtain, and into a room. There was a crystal ball placed on the table, with a deck of cards next to it. Instead of chairs, cushions were placed in the room. "Would you like separate readings, or a reading for the two of you as a couple?"

"It's not like that," Clare quickly said, much to both Eli and Layla's amusement. "So separate, I guess."

Layla smiled mischievously, wisdom beyond her twenty-some years reflecting in her twinkling hazel eyes. "We could do a combined reading as well, just for fun," She told her, winking. "I suppose I'll start with you," she said, pointing to Eli.

She passed the deck to him, and he proceeded to shuffle the cards. Clare watched, mesmerized as his hands precisely cut the deck and mixed the cards up the way you see professional poker players shuffle. He handed the deck back to her and she asked, "Three card spread?"

He shrugged. "Not like I know the difference." She smiled at that.

She drew three cards from the deck, an odd look crossing her face, and placed them all out in the middle of the table. She stared at the cards before she flipped the first card over. Then the second, then the final. Her brow furrowed as she tried to think of a way to interpret the cards.

Going into a trance, she lifted her face to Eli and spoke in a tone both emotional and monotonous at the same time. "The first card is known as The Hermit, most likely representing a social outcast status in your past. The following card being The Wheel of Fortune can be interpreted as a change happening in your life right now. The last card…"

Her voice dropped. "Death." She took in the younger people's expressions and almost laughed because really, they had nothing to worry about.

The two teens glanced at each other, both of them feeling slightly colder. Eli wasn't afraid, maybe a bit tense, but not afraid. He didn't believe in this stuff, but he almost converted, seeing the mournful look on her face. And then Layla grinned, and Eli relaxed. "Normally, this card means loss, or sadness, but it just doesn't fit in with the rest. Most likely due to the fact that the card isn't rightside up, indicating that it means to opposite of the norm."

Clare let out a breath she hadn't been aware she was holding. Her heart went into a panic when the Death card was flicked over and explained, though she was strong in her faith. She shook her head a bit.

Layla looked at Eli, that same intensity coming back from before. "You never used to fit in with others, you were always alone. People might have even been afraid of you, and you always secretly -or maybe not so secretly- wished you had friends. However, this is changing now, as we can clearly see." For a moment she smiled mischievously, and both Eli and Layla's eyes went to Clare as she looked down, trying to conceal her embarrassment and shy smile. "As I said, the Death card is upside down. After this change that is currently taking place, you should feel happier, grateful for something you didn't own before."

Staring at Eli, Clare somehow guessed that at least part of Layla's reading hit home because there was a combination of surprise and thoughtfulness on his face. It made her shudder as Layla placed Eli's cards back into the deck and passed it to Clare.

Eli told himself it was just a coincidence that Layla was right about his past and present. Even before he started making an effort to be different, he was always unique, and people shied away from people who didn't fit in. Sometimes, they tried to push him around, and when he got sick of it, he did something which earned him a "dangerous reputation" and tended to repel people at his old school even more.

He still faced issues with people attempting to mess with him (namely Fitz) at Degrassi, but when he quickly showed that he didn't tolerate that, people started whispering his name in the hallway. But it was different this time. Despite what Clare and the rest of his friends knew about him, they accepted him anyway. He still wasn't the norm, but he had found companionship in Adam and Sav. And of course, there was Clare…

"Shuffle the cards, please." Layla told Clare who was merely staring at the deck. Slowly, her hands started to move as she changed the order of the cards. She breathed deeply, telling herself this was just for fun and it didn't mean anything. When she passed the deck back, she felt like she was betraying God, which was ridiculous because she wasn't doing anything wrong... or at least, that's what she told herself to ease the guilt she was feeling.

Layla repeated the same process, pulling the top three cards off the deck and centering them. She placed a hand on each card and flipped them until they were all facing up. "The first card is known as The Sun, representing joy and optimism. The next card is The Devil interpreted as many things including anger… or sexual attraction," Clare's face flamed up and she couldn't bring herself to look at the laughing boy next to her, "And the last card is The Hanged Man, a card meaning a number of things, once again."

"This is an interesting array of cards," Layla observed. "You used to be a happy person. Someone without a care in the world, but then something went wrong, or things have been going wrong and you're finding yourself in a state of self-doubt and you're angry that you don't know what you're feeling or why you're feeling it. But as you go on, you'll learn to accept these changes, leaving you content and once again satisfied the way you once were."

Clare placed her hands under the table, but not before Layla noticed the way they were shaking. "If you need to talk, that's free," Layla commented.

"I'm good," Clare told her frostily.

Layla shrugged and took the cards off the table and this time handed half the deck to Clare, and half the deck to Eli. They shuffled their separate parts and combined them together before Layla took them.

This time, the layout of the cards was different. She placed one card closest to Clare and Eli, then two rows of three cards parallel to each other. She put one more card at the end of the two rows lined up with the first card. "The card closest to you is going to represent the current state of your relationship."

She flipped the card over, a smile touching her face. "The Hierophant. The card that represents education. I assume the two of you are coming here on a school project? Maybe you're study partners? Or classmates just ditching school?"

The redhead's jaw dropped, and she tried to recollect her thoughts. "But… that's impossible!" Clare exclaimed in shock. "How did you...?"

Layla smiled secretively before moving on to the next card. Her hand hovered over the first card in the row closest to Eli and explained, "This card will indicate that way he feels about you." He said nothing, just waited for her to proceed on as he sat there stoically.

She lifted her eyebrows, and her hazel irises glinted. "The Empress." She smiled at Clare and murmured, "He must think you're quite beautiful."

"She already knows that," Eli interrupted, waving her off. He figured if he didn't make a big deal out of the young psychic's readings, he and Clare wouldn't have to be put in an awkward position in their already confusing relationship.

Meanwhile, Clare flushed again and wondered once more why he thought this was a good idea.

Layla pointed at the card opposite of Eli. "This is the way she views herself." She flipped the card so it was face-up. "Upside down Magician." A thoughtful expression crossed her face. "Normally, this card would mean you're rather stuck up. But upside down... you must not think very highly of yourself."

This time, Eli said nothing and neither did Clare. "The next card," She said, pointing to the second card in Eli's row, "Is what she means to you."

She flicked the card up and a bright and devilish smile was upon her face. "Temperance. The card of harmony, or, bringing together opposites. Normally, this would be an action, but in noun form, it would mean that you," She turned to Clare, "Make him feel secure. Happy. You're a key part in his well-being."

Eli looked at Clare who said nothing, just stared at him open-mouthed. "Calm down, I thought you didn't believe in this stuff." _Even if it's true._ He thought to himself as Clare closed her jaw and focused on the cards.

Layla pointed to the card parallel to the one she just revealed. "This will represent what you mean to her." She turned the card. "The Star," She whispered. "Free-flowing love." She didn't elaborate on that further, noting the fact that the girl looked like she might drop down due to cardiac arrest.

"This one," She gestured to the final card in Eli's row, "Are obstacles in the relationship."

Layla flipped over the card, and her brow furrowed. "Ah. The Death card again. This time face up." She turned a hard stare on the two teenagers. "Remorse and the start of new beginnings might keep you apart for awhile, but once you get these things sorted out... You'll find that change is good."

Clare kind of wanted to slap the walking fortune cookie. "This will be the strengths in your relationship." She beamed as she revealed the card. "The High Priestess. I assume you two are very smart, because this represents wisdom."

"And finally," She said dramatically, pointing to the last remaining card. "The outcome of your relationship."

As Clare and Eli waited, Layla took in their faces. Even if both of them originally claimed to never believe in something like this, there was an anxiety in both of their faces that indicated otherwise. Layla hoped, for their sake, that something good would come out of this experience for them. "The Lovers," She murmured, revealing the card.

Clare stood up and spluttered, "That's it! This is- it's rigged, or _something_." She angrily stormed out of the room, and Layla shook her head.

Layla shouted after her, "Don't bother fighting it! It's in the cards." She turned to Eli, who was staring after Clare wistfully. "You don't owe me anything, so long as you two fix this." She gestured to the curtain, and Eli stood up, following his friend.

"Clare!" He shouted after her as she walked furiously out to his car. "Calm down," He tried to soothe her.

She looked at him, and she blushed. "I mean, she has the _nerve_ to tell us how we're supposed to feel-"

"Actually," Eli interrupted, "She was telling us the way we do feel. Or at least," He added, seeing the incredulous and murderous look on her face, "The way the cards say we feel. The way we really do feel is up to us."

She nodded. "Right, right."

He smiled in relief. Clare normally wasn't one to get angry, and that was about the most furious he'd ever seen her. She looked at him, and he stared at her eyes, marveling again and how pretty they were. "But if that is the way we feel..." He said slowly.

She knew she should probably deny it, but how could she? She knew she felt something... "I- I dunno," Clare whispered, even though she did know. She wanted to be with Eli, she wanted it _so_ bad.

She'd wanted to for so long, but she didn't really want to admit it to herself. But after those readings, it was hard to deny that she felt something for him, bigger than what she felt for KC. What she felt for Eli was love, and she was scared.

But Eli wasn't scared. He was always an honest person, blunt and abrupt to the point, and he was going to get to the bottom of this, and they _were_ going to end up as a couple. He liked her, she liked him. Why bother fighting it, like Layla said?

"Then go out with me," Eli stated simply.

Shock widened Clare's eyes and she asked, "What?" For a moment she wondered if she heard wrong.

He smirked. "Go out with me. Tonight, The Dot. You can 'make up your mind'." He tacked on at the end, just to humor her. Like he didn't already know how she felt about him.

She eyed him suspiciously, waiting for him to say it was just some big joke. But then she remembered the way he'd been hinting at this for awhile and she smiled hesitantly. Nervously, she stammered, "O-okay."

Both of them thought back on the reading, the card flipped over with a red color scheme, the color of love and passion. Then the two teenagers both grinned, walking back to Eli's car.

And a woman looking into a crystal ball watching the scene unfold was smiling too.

**(A/N) So what did you think? I tried really hard to make the readings sound accurate (God bless Wikipedia)**

**Also, I wrote this before we found out about "Eli's reputation" so I added a paragraph or two about that. Before I watched Try Honesty Part 2, I always thought his "reputation" really was just a rumor, but, according to Eli himself, it was not, so I had to make some minor changes. I still love him though!  
**


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